Virtually all motor vehicles are now equipped with front seats having a recliner mechanism that can be selectively actuated to adjust the angular position of the seatback between an upright position and a fully reclined position relative to the seat bottom. Most recliner mechanisms include a body portion that is secured to a frame disposed within the seat bottom and connected to an extending arm for pivoting the seat-back frame.
The body portion of many conventional recliners is secured to the frame by a threaded trunnion. The trunnion typically includes a main body portion disposed between a set of side plates. Two bosses extend through apertures located in the side plates to fix the trunnion to the body portion of the actuator mechanism. Conventionally, an annular flange of each boss is staked to the side plate to secure the bosses and trunnions to the side plate. The assembly and staking of the boss and trunnion assembly is relatively time consuming and expensive.
The actuator according to the invention includes a recliner mechanism having an integrally formed threaded boss, thereby eliminating the trunnion disposed between the side plates and simplifying the side-plate construction and method of assembling the recliner mechanism. The actuator side plate having an integrally formed boss portion generally includes a frustum conical wall segment extending generally outward, a contact surface located at the distal end of the frustum conical wall segment, and a collar extending generally inward from the contact surface to operatively connect the side plate to a seat frame.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.